Comet, Perplexity’s new AI-powered web browser, recently suffered from a significant security vulnerability, according to a blog post last week from Brave, a competing web browser company. The vulnerability has since been fixed, but it points to the challenges of incorporating large language models into web browsers.

Unlike traditional web browsers, Comet has an AI assistant built in. This assistant can scan the page you’re looking at, summarize its contents or perform tasks for you. The problem is that Comet’s AI assistant is built on the same technology as other AI chatbots, like ChatGPT. 

AI chatbots can’t think and reason the same way humans can, and if they read a piece of content meant to manipulate its output, it may end up following through. This is known as prompt engineering. 

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

A representative for Brave didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

AI companies try to mitigate the manipulation of AI chatbots, but that can be tricky, as bad actors always look at novel ways to break through protections. 

«This vulnerability is fixed,» said Jesse Dwyer, Perplexity’s head of communications in a statement. «We have a pretty robust bounty program, and we worked directly with Brave to identify and repair it.»

Test used hidden text on Reddit

In its testing, Brave set up a Reddit page with invisible text on the screen and asked Comet to summarize the on-screen content. As the AI processed the page’s content, it couldn’t distinguish between the malicious prompts and began feeding Brave’s testers sensitive information. 

In this case, the hidden text enabled Comet’s AI assistant to navigate to a user’s Perplexity account, extract the associated email address, and navigate to a Gmail account. The AI agent was essentially acting as an actual user, meaning that traditional security methods weren’t working. 

Brave warns that this type of prompt injection can go further, accessing bank accounts, corporate systems, private emails and other services. 

Brave’s senior mobile security engineer, Artem Chaikin, and VP of privacy and security, Shivan Kaul Sahib, laid out a list of possible fixes. First, AI web browsers should always treat page content as untrusted. AI models should check to make sure they’re following user intent. The model should always double-check with the user to ensure interactions are correct, and agentic browsing mode should only turn on when the user wants it to.

Brave’s blog post is the first in a series regarding challenges facing AI web browsers. Brave also has an AI assistant, Leo, embedded in its browser. 

AI is increasingly embedded in all parts of technology, from Google searches to toothbrushes. While having an AI assistant is handy, these new technologies have different security vulnerabilities. 

In the past, hackers needed to be expert coders to break into systems. When dealing with AI, however, it’s possible to use squirrely natural language to get past built-in protections. 

Also, since many companies rely on major AI models, such as ones from OpenAI, Google and Meta, any vulnerabilities in those systems could extend to companies using those same models. AI companies haven’t been open about these types of security vulnerabilities as doing so might tip off hackers, giving them new avenues to exploit. 

The Legendary Beasts from the second generation of Pokemon games are roaring into the digital card game Pokemon TCG Pocket when its next mini-expansion, Secluded Springs, is released on Aug. 28.

The smaller subset of digital cards supplements the recent Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion, which focused on the rare Pokemon Ho-Oh and Lugia. (Older fans may remember them from the box art of Pokemon Gold and Silver, released all the way back in 1999.) While the official list of digital cards in the set isn’t yet available, it’s likely to be smaller than its gargantuan 241-card predecessor. Expect something more akin to earlier mini-sets like Extradimensional Crisis or Eevee Grove.

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The most valuable cards that fans can expect to chase include Pokemon Ex versions of the legendary dogs Entei, Suicune and Raikou, while third-generation legendaries Latios and Latias also make an appearance. Baby Pokemon like Mantyke also appear, which fit the mini-expansion’s theme, even though this Pokemon was introduced in later games than Pokemon Gold and Silver.

As always, Pokemon TCG Pocket developer DeNA has partnered with excellent artists to bring fun new monster art to the game. We’re getting treated to a hot springs paradise in this set — these might be the most beautiful pieces of card art since the Mythical Island set was released.

The quiet Johto way of life makes for excellent card art

Generation 2 Pokemon games (Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal) are placed on a pedestal by many veteran fans of the series, and for good reason. Though the games have a punishing and uneven leveling curve, they added a new region while retaining a post-game set in the region of Kanto, the original Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow’s setting. New features added to the second generation of games, like shiny Pokemon and egg hatching, added more depth and replayability.

But above all else, the quiet mystique of the Johto region introduced in Generation 2 separated Gold, Silver and Crystal from their predecessors. Whereas the hustle and bustle of Kanto was indicative of an increasingly industrialized Pokemon world, the nature-loving populace living throughout Johto were deeply spiritual — holding onto tradition and venerated cultural sites that were important to people and Pokemon alike.

Read more: Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Real-Time Battles Forced Me to Think Fast (and I Liked It)

The new Pokemon TCG Pocket expansion’s art looks like it captures a lot of the lackadaisical slice-of-life scenes that have become irreversibly linked with Generation 2 in my mind, and that’s really special.

A watercolor Slowking kicks its feet by the stream as the water trickles by. A lava-based Slugma gazes down into steaming hot water, contemplating whether it should take a dip. Folks gaze at the ancient mural of a Milotic, in awe of its beauty. These are the cards that make me feel a deeper connection to the Pokemon world — they’re as refreshing as booting up Pokemon Go on Day 1 and seeing the pocket monsters in real life.

Slice-of-life cards just make sense for Johto, and I hope we’ll see more of them (especially rendered in brilliant full art variants) in future sets as well.

Drop events, wonder pick challenges and more free rewards slated for September

If you love your water-type Pokemon, you’re in luck: There are a whole lot of Secluded Springs post-launch events that will help you add these aquatic pocket monsters to your deck.

On Aug. 31, a special Suicune-themed binder cover and display board backdrop will be added to Pokemon TCG Pocket. In September, a water-type mass outbreak event will scatter aquatic Pokemon throughout bonus wonder picks.

Other September events include a drop event where you can take on special solo battles to earn a Zoroark promo card, a wonder pick event themed around special Miltank and Phanpy promo cards and a week of challenges to earn extra pack hourglasses and other rewards.

DeNA also promised that players will be able to trade in their stardust for new card flair throughout the month, but there are no additional details about what cool new visual effects will be released as yet.

Without a smartphone, it would be almost impossible for me to stay in touch with certain people. Phones have changed how I interact with friends, keeping me connected in ways that were once unimaginable. 

But then there’s the flip side: I’ll be having dinner with friends, only for the conversation to pause or stop entirely as everyone picks up their phones to check their notifications. 

This kind of subtle disconnect, often called «phubbing,» happens more than we realize. Even when it’s unintentional, it can leave the folks who aren’t using their phones feeling invisible. If you want to be more present during hangouts or dinners, something as simple as leaving your phone face down can help you stay focused on the people right in front of you.

I’ve been guilty of paying more attention to my screen than my companion, and I’ve felt bad about it afterward. There’s nothing wrong with replying to an urgent Slack message or pulling up a funny TikTok to share. But I know I probably spend too much time staring at screens (a lot of that time is unhealthy doomscrolling). These days, when I’m not using my phone, I try to be more deliberate about keeping it out of sight and out of mind. If I do need to keep my phone at hand, I nearly always have it face down.

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It can protect your phone screen

I have a few reasons for making sure my phone screen is turned away. The first one is practical: When my phone isn’t in my pocket, it’s probably sitting on a desk or table — which means it’s probably not far from a glass of water or mug of coffee. 

As a somewhat clumsy person, I’ve spilled beverages on my phone plenty of times. And even though most modern phones are water-resistant, why take chances? With my screen hidden, I can keep the most important part of my phone protected from splashes and other mishaps.

For extra protection, I have a phone case with raised edges. This helps prevent the screen from coming in direct contact with crumbs and debris that might be left on the table.

My colleague David Carnoy told me about an incident where he was charging his phone on his kitchen counter with the screen face up. Someone dropped a mug on top of it and cracked the screen. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a screen protector on this device (he knows better now).

It could help save your phone battery

Another good reason to keep my phone face down is that it won’t turn on each time I get a notification. That means I can save a little bit of battery charge.

A single notification won’t mean the difference between my phone lasting the whole day or dying in the afternoon but notifications can add up, especially if I’ve enabled them across all of my apps. If I’m in a lot of group chats, my screen might end up turning on dozens of times throughout the day (and that’s on the low side — many teenagers have hundreds of notifications a day).

It also shows that you pay attention

Keeping my phone face down is also a good rule of social etiquette: If I’m hanging out with someone, I keep my screen hidden from view as a subtle way of showing that I won’t be distracted by it. I don’t want incoming notifications to light up my screen every few seconds, especially if I’m in a bar or other dimly lit setting. I want to keep my eyes on the person I’m talking to.

«Eye contact is one of the most powerful forms of human connection. Neuroscience research indicates that when two people make direct eye contact, their brain activity begins to synchronize, supporting more effective communication and increasing empathy. This synchrony can be disrupted when attention shifts to a phone, even briefly,» says Michelle Davis, clinical psychologist at Headspace.

When I’m with the people I’ve chosen to spend time with, I want to be fully present with them. A sudden notification will tempt me to glance at, or worse, pick up my phone in the middle of a conversation.

It minimizes your phone’s presence

I also have a more personal reason for keeping my phone face down and I suspect that other people have had this same thought: My phone takes up too much space in my life. 

I mean that quite literally. My phone is bigger than it needs to be. That’s been especially true since I upgraded from my iPhone Mini to a «normal-sized» iPhone. Yes, I got a much needed boost in battery life but I also got a screen with more pixels to lure me into the next news headline or autoplaying Instagram reel.

A small smartphone isn’t something that really exists anymore. My phone is bigger and better at grabbing my attention. It competes against my friends and family, books and movies, the entire world outside of its 6-inch screen. It often wins. But there’s still one small thing I can do to minimize its presence: I can keep the screen turned away from me whenever possible.

It can sometimes feel like there’s no escaping from my phone. Whether that ever changes, or phones evolve into some new form factor, I can’t say. I can’t control everything about my phone but I can control whether the screen stares at me when I’m not staring at it.